THE Oxford vaccine could be the “winning formula” as the Covid variant spreads across the world.

The boss of the firm behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has raised hopes and told the Sunday Times he believed researchers had found the “winning formula” using two doses and promised to publish the results as reports suggested the UK regulator could approve the jab within days.

The government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, with around 40 million expected to be available by the end of March.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is stored at normal refrigerator temperatures while the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots need to be kept at around -70C and -20C respectively to maintain the integrity of their RNA structure.

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak praised vaccination efforts so far, telling the Mail on Sunday: “There will be tough days and months ahead, but there are reasons to look ahead to a brighter future and what 2021 promises.

“The early roll-out of vaccines – and the incredible work of our scientists and NHS – means we can now see light at the end of the tunnel with this pandemic.”

On Christmas Eve, the Department of Health and Social Care said more than 600,000 people had received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, but the roll-out in care homes has been limited to seven areas.

It added larger care homes with 50 to 70 beds would be prioritised first, with around 2,900 care homes of this size in England.

The new variant, which was blamed for soaring rates across the country before the wider imposition of stricter Tier 4 measures in swathes of England on Boxing Day, continues to drive high case rates with another 34,693 reported on Saturday.

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